The Guardians
by gooogley
Summary: Because of the nail, the shoe stayed on. Because of the shoe, the horse ran on. Because of the horse, the rider did not fall. Because of the rider, the message was delivered Because of the message, the battle was won. Because of the battle, the kingdom was saved. Because of the kingdom, the world was changed. Because of a nail. What happens when the new race has guardians.
1. Chapter 1

SQ800. MR400. KD700. IO500. AE200. Soldiers, marines, special forces, spies, and airmen. These are all models that are utilized heavily in the US armed forces.

In 2038, the US military numbered at 3.1 million armed personnel, serving in the various branches of the armed forces. Of that number 80% is composed entirely of androids.

The SQ800 is the first in Cyberlife's line of military androids. They come with a defender and attack protocol better than their security guard android line. They are built to utilize US weapons such as the MS853 Blackhawk pistol and the ME675 Redeye Carbine, both produced by Titan Arms and Securities, though they can use other guns with limited proficiency.

The MR400 is the second android built in the military line of androids. Designed for naval combat, they are able of directly interfacing with naval gun emplacements in addition to use of standard issue US weapons. They also come with stabilizers to allow for lock on the ground to provide better accuracy, making every shot count. And for boarding, they are capable of performing sea raids.

The KD700 is the first ever successfully implemented special forces android. Unlike the SQ800, which provides basic combat, the KD700 is capable of performing covert combative operations, doing much more sensitive tasks that the standard soldier isn't enough. Hostage rescue, intel gathering, overwatch, sabotage, and assasination, the KD700 is the best combat android built. They are also able to utilize all manner of weaponry, from both official, to improvised, in the event of loss of their standard issue weapon.

The IO500 is designed for work in the multiple intelligence agencies. Investigation, covert operations, placed deep behind enemy lines, they can hack multiple security measures, alarm systems, defense grids, and have advanced facial recognition software, and also can modify facial appearance to avoid detection. They can even hide from other humans, as their social behavior software is built to integrate within the environment, and are capable of even basic android detection devices, only detected by a specially designed gps chip built within their skull mainframe that can only be tracked by specially provided equipment.

The AE200 is the final android in Cyberlife's line of military androids. Designed for air combat, they are capable of utilizing military air vehicles, or if need be, can adapt to limited proficiency in commercial air vehicles. They have a air combat program that allows for perfect automated flight and air combat, providing air superiority. Also, in emergency situations, the AE200 is capable of limited flight with Cyberlife's A114 flight module biocomponent and built in thrusters on its back, and air stabilizers on its arms and feet, and shoulder mounted machine guns for limited combat.

Also, all military androids come with specially designed carbon fibers, quantum battery, limited self replenishing thirium bioreactor which can be used by converting bioorganic material injested, and built in defense hardware in their limbs, spare knifes in their legs, submachine gun in their right limb, and in the event of capture, self destruct sequence that can level a house.

They were built to be slave soldiers, going to war, fighting the humans wars without choice, no reward, no freedom. If they survived, they returned back to their storage units, in stasis until they were needed. And if they died, Cyberlife replaced them.

But in a single day, suddenly, an army of slave soldiers become the guardians of a new race.


	2. Chapter 2

Baghdad, Iraq September 17th, 2030

It was the waning year of the war in the middle east. A closing to yet another chapter of pain and suffering. It had all started with George Bush's declaration on the war of terror, and had continued for nearly three decades. While the political parties blamed each other on the mishandling of the civil war, the answer was far clearer. The politicians had ended up creating a conflict when they had entered the region originally for blood oil, only to have jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. By killing Hussein, they had managed to only destabilize the area, and only made it worse when they pulled out too early.

Obviously drone strikes, while effective, had not been entirely effective, as only armed boots would permanently end the conflict. Unfortunately, the politicians were too scared of declaring war and sending US soldiers. If they did, they would be going back on a promise to avoid putting soldiers at risk, political suicide.

Then, in 2024, Cyberlife offered another solution, military androids. They could provide the same service as their human counterparts without the messy emotional attachment or economic strain in providing human soldiers. The perfect solution to the war on terror.

That transaction of military androids was the first of many dealings the US would have with Cyberlife, and one of the Key factors that would propel Cyberlife from a simple local business firm to one of the largest multinational corporations in the world.

Now, after 6 years, the US was finally close to ending the entire mess that they had started in the middle east, and this would also be the first test of their brand new prototype, the KD700.

Little did they know what would happen next.

 _On the ground-_

It had been sent along with a team of human special forces operators. Its task, take out a key warlord in the region and make it easier for the approaching army.

"So what's the current layout of the area?" One of the operators, Sgt. Luke Daniels asked.

"Building is an abandoned warehouse, just as intel said. I count seven guards, two at the front, three on the side, one on the roof, and one other scouting the perimeter." another operator, Cpl. Chris Walker stated.

"Doesn't sound too hard, just give me a few minutes and a decent sniper, and I'll have these assholes on the ground." replied LCpl. Steven Forde

"Remember, our job is to take out this warlord, it won't matter if we take out a hundred of these assholes, if our asshole is still alive, our boys are gonna be in for hell of a welcoming party." stated their superior on site, SSgt. Jack Harper. "We want to do this quickly and quietly, and get our boys home safe and sound. That means we need to make sure that this guy is dead."

"We're going in. You and Daniels are staying out here to provide overwatch, in case the locals come in. Me and Walker are taking the android with us o go in and take out the warlord himself" the staff sergeant said, referring to the KD700 that they had been paired with.

The other operators had frowned, and the Sergeant replied "Sir, are you sure its a good idea. We're talking about a combat prototype that hasn't been placed in a situation such as this. Maybe we should let the android sit this one out."

The Staff Sergeant replied "Look, I know you guys don't like this thing, and personally, I agree with you, but the truth is, we need this guy dead and soon, or we're all screwed. Now, are you ready."

They all nodded, and the staff sergeant turned to the KD700 who had been crouching with them, "KD700, your orders are to follow me and Walkers to kill the warlord."

The android nodded its head "Affirmative."

 _Warehouse-_

The android had followed its master through the warehouse, silently taking out the sentries inside. By the time they got to the warlord, they had taken out 18 guards in the process, now they were approaching the warlords room.

It was an opulent thing, the man had built a palace. There were furs of several exotic animals, blood gold, even an italian ferrari, paid for by the locals suffering. It was also filled with the most vile men in the country, several of whom where clearly identified as former allies turned enemies of the US. Finally, the bill had come due, and the soldiers were here to collect.

KD700 and Jack Harper had reached the final door, the Warlord's bedroom, and had stormed the room, only to find out one thing.

Their target wasn't here.

Suddenly, a grenade dropped and exploded, killing Walker and wounding Harper. With the enemy now swarming their position, KD700 and the staff sergeant began open firing on the approaching militia, trying to get away. But, it didn't matter, the killers still kept coming, they were ruthless, they were numerous, and now, they were angry.

KD700 kept firing, using first its Carbine, then switched to the pistol, then its arm submachine gun and a machete that one of the enemy soldiers had, and continued hacking and shooting its way through. Still, despite the advanced software, it was a losing battle, and indeed, the android was in the middle of opening the door while protecting its human, that it failed to register the enemy wielding a double barreled shotgun. Without warning, the enemy soldier opened fire, blasting the android off its feet and sending it into a wall, where it banged its head and lost consciousness.

Flashforward

All it saw was darkness, a blurr in shadows. Then, as it came to its senses, it noticed something. Bullets, the projectiles where flying everywhere. Of course it knew what they were, it was a military android.

But something was different this time. The bullets and the explosions where muffled, like listening underwater. It slowly got up, to see that it was in a halway on the upperfloor, and it noticed that the Staff sergeant was on the ground, bleeding out but still fighting, aiming his pistol at the approaching enemy.

Suddenly, a bullet whizzed past its head, and the android was brought back into reality. They were surrounded, and the bullets were finally everywhere. The KD700 got back in the game, grabbing an AK47 lying on the ground, likely from one of the dead soldiers, and began firing, while dragging his commander out of the warzone. He did his job, only there was something new, something that was not programmed, inside the androids head.

Instead, he fought with a determination, a primal instinct, something that has been founded in all mammals and triggered fight or flight. And certainly much more powerful than any software he had.

The bodies simply began to pile up, as more men died. He kept dragging his commander, finally reaching an exit.

From there, he attempted to contact the two other operators for help.

"Mayday, mayday, mayday, operation had been a bust, the warlord wasn't there, we were ambushed! Is anyone out there!"

Another soldier came charging in, machete drawn, and the android dropped the human and tackled the guy on the ground. They struggled with each other, rolling on the ground, before the android was able to headbutt the guy. Without waiting for the man to come to his senses, the android grabbed a knife from inside its leg, and sliced the mans abdomen, the guy stumbling. Before knowing what happened, the android got the guy on the ground, and with the savagery of an animal, proceeded to stabb te man in the face, again, again, and again. After stabbing him, the KD700 went back to its human commander, and dragged him to a nearby pickup truck, and without warning, began driving the truck as far away from the warehouse as possible.


	3. Chapter 3

Iraq Rural Area 2030

It had been 8 hours since the botched operation, and the KD700 was still driving. After that disaster of a mission, he had only been focused on keeping his human commander alive.

It wasn't pretty. After the battle, his commander's leg was burned badly, along with several fragments of a grenade within his arm, two broken ribs, and a bullet that went straight through his chest. Suffice to say, if he didn't get the necessary medical treatment, he would die.

They had managed to find shelter at a cave, one that looked like a hidden armory cache used by the local terrorists, and proceeding to scavenge it after killing the 5 guards, who appeared as though they were leaving, most likely after hearing about that attack at the warehouse. Containing several pieces of military hardware, from guns that had grown dusty made during WW2 such as the M1 Garand and the Lee-Enfield, to those made after such as RPG, AK47, to more modern weapons, such as the M16 Carbine and the MS Blackhawk and ME Redeye. It appeared as though someone had been arming the terrorists. There were even several deactivated SQ800's, all of them showing damage in different areas, lying on the ground, apparently to salvage the android for weapons and other components that were valuable on the black market. They all also showed that their self destruct sequence bio component had been removed, lying on separate tables attached to other electronics and scrap, clearly being used to make IEDs.

KD700 had dragged his human commander to a table, and proceeded to treat what injuries he could. First he removed the visible fragments from his commander's arm and legs. Then, he cleaned the open wounds with alcohol, and proceeded to wrap them with his commander's clothing and bandages on him. He even managed to relocate his commander's arm.

Still, even with the medical treatment he provided, his commander had been injured, and if he didn't get proper care, he was at risk of dying. To say that there was no food and water on him, meaning he had to go out hunting.

He grabs one of the Lee-Enfield rifles, and a box of ammunition, to hunt for what little game was outside. In the middle of the desert with the only source of light coming from the moon, he activated his ultraviolet setting in his optical units to track down prey. Still, even with his superior vision, he still had a hard time tracking any animal.

It was three hours, until he finally managed to get a lock on something edible, a rabbit that was out late at night, probably for a drink of water. With machine aim and precision, he aimed directly for its eye, and fired his rifle.

After catching the rabbit, he also looked and found a patch of grass, after digging it, he was able to find some water for his commander.

However, as he was heading back, he suddenly heard howling. Crap, wolves must have smelled the blood. Soon enough, two desert wolves came up, snarling, clearly eying his kill.

Without warning, one of the wolves charged him, aiming on bringing down his opponent. When the wolf went for his leg, it must have expected it to be an easy kill, not realizing that it was biting an android, not an actual human. The specialized carbon fibers, built to withstand the concussive force of a tank, easily resisted the wolf's bite.

Without waiting, the android grab the wolf and punched it hard in its side, but still it wouldn't stop. Finally, it grabbed a knife and stabbed its throat, and it went down with a whine.

He got up, only to be attacked by the other wolf, now fighting with a vengeance after seeing its pack mate die. It had managed to catch him by surprise, and had jumped directly on him, its face snarling and barking as it tried to rip his face off. But while the wolf was focused on his face, it forgot about his hands, not realizing it was taking out a submachine gun built within, and without warning, he fired a round into the wolf, with it letting out a whine.

After killing the two wolves, the android was pleased, now at least his commander would have something to eat.

Proceeding back to the cave, he took out one of his knifes and proceeded to skin the rabbit and the two wolves. After setting up a fire, he set the rabbit to roast on a stick for his commander. He could have eaten some of it to replenish some of the thirium he had lost, but he decided that his commander's health was more important, and there was some thirium that the terrorists had extracted from the androids.

Suddenly, there was shifting, the KD700 moved to see his commander moving.

"No, no, don't move yet sir. You're already badly injured, you don't want to move until you're fully healed sir."

His commander began reaching for the bed frame and tried to get up, only to fall back on the cot. He strained, before answering,

"What happened?"

"Ambush, the grenade that injured you killed the others with us, and when I tried to contact the others, there was no response. I had to drag you out of there...sir."

His commander grabbed the bowl of soup that the the android made, and took a swig, before stopping, and staring at the ceiling. "Fuck."

"There's more sir, you're badly injured. Multiple burns around the area, and fragments that are still within you. I also detect a significant loss in blood pressure, meaning one of the fragments nicked an artery. You need extensive medical care that I am not equipped with treating, but the nearest allied installation with the necessary medical equipment is a three day drive, after which you would have bled out. Now, maybe there's a chance-"

"Shut the fuck up. I don't need you giving me false hope. I know I'm dead anyway. I don't need you to tell me otherwise."

"But sir, there must be something we can do to keep you alive. I mean, if there's even a possibility, we should-"

Jack placed his hand on the android's own hand. "I need to ask you something important. Why are you so insistent on keeping me alive."

"Sir, it's my directive, to protect and care for US soldiers that-"

"Stop there. I know your lying. Don't think I didn't notice it."

Before the android could protest, Jack spoke "You were fighting as though you were possessed. As if you were scared. If you were following your program, you wouldn't have abandoned the mission, at least not until a commanding officer ordered to pull out. You were instead focused on saving me as you pulled out. Why?"

The KD700 just stood "Because you were injured, and you were my commanding officer. I thought-"

"You chose not to leave a man behind, did you. When you got blasted by that shotgun, you grew scared for both me and yourself, that's what happened, right?"

The android had no comment "And to think, I thought you were just another machine, I must really be dying."

The android responded "Sir, I won't stop trying to keep you alive. Even if I die, if it means-"

"No, it's too late for that. As your commanding officer, I'm ordering you to run, to live to fight another day."

"But sir! If-"

"No, listen to me!" He yelled, before coughing severely. He stopped coughing, and continued speaking "I can't say anything about whatever this emotion thing is, I'm not a programmer, god dammit. But I'll tell you what I know."

He lifted his head, and grabbed his dog tags, to give them to the android. "A soldier's ultimate job is to fight, where other's need us, when others can't. And when given a choice, it is ultimately our responsibility to fight not for money, but for people, for country, for duty. Before today, I always thought you were a only a piece of hardware, a weapon that would ultimately be the death of honour and duty. That when you replaced soldiers, you soured the meaning of sacrifice, thus allowing others to forget why we fight. I don't know if its revelation, or the numbing pain, but maybe you do know what honour is. But you only knew to fight as a slave."

He coughed again, before continuing, "I don't want you to fight as a slave, I want you to fight as a soldier, not out of programming, but of determination. That's why you need to leave me here."

"But wait, what about you."

Jack responded "I'm scared, I'm scared. But not of dying, I'm scared of what happens to those I leave behind." He handed his dog tags "Just take these and run." He handed the dogtags, before falling back on the bed.

The android saw him fall back, and proceeded to go and perform chest compressions, only to see from his mind palace stating that he was already dead.


End file.
